Hip-hop star, who also owns a record label, supports Hollywood writers’ strike and says musicians need to find a similar way to protest
Great name in the history of hip hop, Snoop Dogg is fully aware of the market in which it operates. No wonder he even bought the label where he started, death rowand was directly involved with the commercial part of this scenario.
Aware of the challenges, the star reserves harsh criticism of streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, among others. In a recent statement during an event in the United States (via Variety), the rapper and businessman even compared the situation with the writers’ strike in Hollywood, capable of halting the biggest film productions in the world since the beginning of May.
In the view of Snoop, it is not understandable how screenwriters and musicians “can’t get paid” by “screwed up” payment models. The cinema gang managed to show their power, which has not been the case for other types of professionals – for this reason, he suggests that “musicians discover this in the same way that screenwriters are discovering”. He further highlighted:
“Writers are on strike over streaming platforms [como Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, entre outras]. They cannot receive. Because when you’re on the platform, it’s not like at the box office, where you track income.”
Right away, dogg made it clear that he did not understand “how the hell can someone get paid in this shit”, in view of the injustices that occur in this market. And he stated:
“Someone explain to me: how can you get a billion streams and not get paid 1 million dollars? That’s the main complaint of many of us artists is that we generate big numbers, but that doesn’t show in the money. Like, where the hell is the money?”
No wonder, the first measure of Snoop Dogg when buying the record label death row was to take all the discs already released from the streaming platforms. He explained to the podcast Drink Champs (via Music Non Stop):
“The first thing I did was pull all of our music from those streaming platforms traditionally known to the public, because they just don’t pay. And those platforms make millions and millions on streams and nobody gets paid but the big labels. So I decided to remove the entire catalog, create a platform of my own, similar to Amazon, Netflix and Hulu. It’s going to be a Death Row app. And then the music will live in the metaverse.”
In 2020, a report released by the website Business Insider pointed out that artists were only paid $0.0033 for every play of their music on Spotify. It’s less than half a cent on the dollar. Thus, you need 300 plays/streams to receive a dollar for your work.
To the USA Todaya 22-year-old singer named Mackenzie Miller said that her single “peach lemonade” received nearly 14,000 plays in the first few weeks of its release. However, his pay was barely $5. That’s because it doesn’t mean you’ll get paid $0.0033 per song play (this is an average amount) and because rights holders and distributors get paid too.
Spotify CEO’s suggestion
Also in 2020, Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek, generated controversy by offering what it considers to be the solution to the problem. The professional highlighted that musicians need to “record more”, since they are complaining without offering much in return.
In an interview with MusicAlly, ok declared that, in fact, there are no complaints that demonstrate the musicians’ real dissatisfaction with the remuneration values.
“Privately, they praise Spotify. However, they are not encouraged to do this in public. There are more and more artists who are able to live off of streaming income alone.”
Then came the statement that musicians really need to work harder. A surprising speech, considering the amount of complaints about the values.
“Some artists earned more in the past and nowadays they may not earn as much, because nowadays it is not possible for someone to record music every 3 or 4 years and think that this will be enough. The artists who are making their mark these days know that it is necessary to engage with fans on an ongoing basis. When releasing an album, you need to have a story about it and continue to communicate with fans. Those who are not doing well on streaming platforms are, for the most part, those who want to release music the way it was before.”
Writers’ strike
Cited as a model of protest by Snoop Doggthe writers’ strike was able to paralyze the production of series such as Stranger Things, The House of the Dragon It is Cobra Kai; programs such as Saturday Night Live, Jimmy KimmelLive! It is Late Show with Stephen Colbert; as well as films of the size of Blade. There is no timetable for when the demonstration will end.
Source: Rollingstone
Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.
